Introducing Social Work

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Parker of the Health Sciences University, UK, is Professor Emeritus at Bournemouth University, Professor Emeritus at the University of Stavanger, Norway, Visiting Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Doctoral programme team member at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. He was one of the founders and director of the Family Assessment and Support Unit, a placement agency attached to the University of Hull and Head of the Department of Social Work. He was Chair of the Association of Teachers in Social Work Education until 2005, Vice Chair of the UK higher education representative body, the Joint University Council for Social Work Education from 2005- 2010, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He has published widely (over 200 scholarly papers and chapters and 43 books): on disadvantage, marginalisation and violence, Southeast Asia, social work and welfare education internationally. He is author of the best-selling book Social Work Practice (Sage, 2025) and series editor for the highly successful Transforming Social Work Practice series (Sage).